Protectorate

Protectorate,

in English history, name given to the English government from 1653 to 1659. Following the English civil warEnglish civil war,1642–48, the conflict between King Charles I of England and a large body of his subjects, generally called the "parliamentarians," that culminated in the defeat and execution of the king and the establishment of a republican commonwealth......Click the link for more information. and the execution of Charles I, England was declared (1649) a commonwealthcommonwealth,form of administration signifying government by the common consent of the people. To Locke and Hobbes and other 17th-century writers the term meant an organized political community similar to what is meant in the 20th cent. by the word state......Click the link for more information. under the rule of the Rump Parliament. In 1653, however, Oliver CromwellCromwell, Oliver, 1599–1658, lord protector of England. Parliamentary General

The son of a gentry family, he entered Cambridge in 1616 but probably left the next year......Click the link for more information. dissolved the Rump, replacing it with the Nominated, or Barebone's, Parliament (see Barebone, Praise-GodBarebone or Barbon, Praise-God, 1596?–1679, English lay preacher and leather merchant. Soon after 1630 he became leader of half of a Baptist congregation that had split over the issue of infant baptism......Click the link for more information.), and when the latter proved ineffectual, he accepted (Dec., 1653) the constitutional document entitled the Instrument of Government, which had been drawn up by a group of army officers. By its terms, Cromwell assumed the title lord protector of the commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland and agreed to share his power with a council of state and a Parliament of one house. However, although Parliament met regularly, Cromwell's protectorate was a virtual dictatorship resting on the power of the army. After a royalist uprising, he divided (1655) the country into 11 military districts, each under the administration of a major general who enforced the rigidly puritanical laws and collected taxes. Toleration was extended to Jews and all non-Anglican Protestants, but not to Roman Catholics. In 1654, the first of the Dutch WarsDutch Wars,series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which French interests played a primary role......Click the link for more information. was brought to a close and English sea power turned against Spain. In the Humble Petition and Advice of 1657, Parliament offered Cromwell the throne (which he refused), allowed him to name a successor, and set up an upper house to be chosen by him; but this attempt at constitutional revision had little practical effect on the government. Richard CromwellCromwell, Richard,1626–1712, lord protector of England; third son of Oliver Cromwell. He was the eldest surviving son at the death of his father (Sept. 3, 1658), who had nominated him as his successor......Click the link for more information. succeeded as lord protector on the death of his father in 1658, but he was unable to control the army and resigned in May, 1659. The Rump was recalled and the Commonwealth resumed, and after a period of chaos Gen. George MonckMonck or Monk, George, 1st duke of Albemarle,1608–70, English soldier and politician......Click the link for more information. recalled the Long Parliament and brought about the RestorationRestoration,in English history, the reestablishment of the monarchy on the accession (1660) of Charles II after the collapse of the Commonwealth (see under commonwealth) and the Protectorate......Click the link for more information. of Charles II.

Bibliography

See S. R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate (4 vol., 1903, repr. 1965); C. Firth, The Last Years of the Protectorate (2 vol., 1909; repr. 1964); I. Roots, Commonwealth and Protectorate: The English Civil War and Its Aftermath (1966).

protectorate,

in international law, a relationship in which one state surrenders part of its sovereigntysovereignty,supreme authority in a political community. The concept of sovereignty has had a long history of development, and it may be said that every political theorist since Plato has dealt with the notion in some manner, although not always explicitly......Click the link for more information. to another. The subordinate state is called a protectorate. The term covers a great variety of relations, but typically the protected state gives up all or part of its control over foreign affairs while retaining a large measure of independence in internal matters. The relation may originate when the dominant power threatens or uses force or when the subordinate sees advantages (usually military protection) in the arrangement. A protectorate is distinguishable from the relation of home country and colony, for the protected state retains its sovereignty (though often only nominally), its territory remains distinct from that of the protector, and its citizens do not become nationals of the protecting state. Initially, in most cases, the extent to which the dominant state may interfere in local affairs is governed by treaty; but since a protected state usually has no access to diplomatic channels, it is in a poor position to resist attempts at increased control. Protectorates in connection with large empires probably have existed from earliest times, and there are known instances in Greek and Roman history. In World War I, Great Britain made Egypt a protectorate. Before the abrogation (1934) of the Platt Amendment, Cuba was essentially a protectorate of the United States. Today no state formally has the status of a protectorate, but several quasi-protectorates do exist, including the Cook IslandsCook Islands,island group (2006 pop. 19,569), 90 sq mi (234 sq km), S Pacific, SE of Samoa; a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. It consists of 15 small islands and is comprised of two main groups, the Southern (or Lower) Cook islands (Rarotonga,.....Click the link for more information., the Marshall IslandsMarshall Islands,officially Republic of the Marshall Islands, independent nation (2005 est. pop. 59,000), in the central Pacific. The Marshalls extend over a 700-mi (1,130-km) area and comprise two major groups: the Ratak Chain in the east, and the Ralik Chain in the west, with.....Click the link for more information., the Federated States of MicronesiaMicronesia, Federated States of,independent nation (2005 est. pop. 108,000), c.271 sq mi (702 sq km), an island group in the W Pacific Ocean. It comprises four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei (formerly Ponape), Chuuk (formerly Truk), and Yap......Click the link for more information., and NiueNiue, coral island (2004 pop. 1,761), c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), South Pacific, freely associated with New Zealand. Alofi is the capital. The inhabitants are mainly Protestant Polynesians......Click the link for more information.. The former trust territories of the United Nations (see trusteeship, territorialtrusteeship, territorial,system of UN control for territories that were not self-governing. It replaced the mandates of the League of Nations. Provided for under chapters 12 and 13 of the Charter of the United Nations, the trusteeship system was intended to promote the welfare.....Click the link for more information.) were distinguished from protectorates in that they were being prepared for ultimate independence and that the control of the dominant state was subject to scrutiny by the UN Trusteeship Council.

Protectorate

a form of colonial dependency in which by a special international agreement one state turns over the conduct of its foreign relations to another state. At the same time the protected state receives an adviser or resident on domestic affairs, retaining only a certain amount of autonomy.

In the history of international relations, a protectorate has frequently been established by a unilateral act. For example, in 1914, Great Britain, by means of a unilateral declaration, established a protectorate over Egypt, which it had in fact occupied since 1882. In 1939, Hitlerite Germany established a protectorate over Bohemia and Moravia, which actually became victims of fascist aggression.

A protectorate represents a violation of the generally recognized principles of modern international law and, above all, of the principle of national self-determination as set forth in the UN Charter. The preservation of a protectorate regime or attempts to revive it also contradict a declaration published in 1960 concerning the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples.

As a historical vestige in Europe, Italy has retained a protectorate over San Marino since 1862, France over Monaco since 1861, and Switzerland over Liechtenstein since 1924.

Protectorate

the military dictatorship that ruled England from 1653 to 1659.

The protectorate was established on Dec. 16, 1653, at which time absolute power was transferred to O. Cromwell as lord protector. The protectorate was called upon to protect the new nobility and bourgeoisie against both royalist restoration attempts and the revolutionary initiatives of the popular masses. After Cromwell’s death, his eldest son, Richard, renounced the title of lord protector in May 1659, and power passed into the hands of a council of officers (called the Second English Republic). In 1660 the monarchy under the Stuarts was restored.

protectorate

1.

a. a territory largely controlled by but not annexed to a stronger state

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